


Finite

by AwesomeMango7



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Aged-Up Morty, Angst, Goodbyes, He’s going away to college, Morty is a flippn’ adult in this, Rick is sad, Sad, everyone is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 19:08:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20605835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwesomeMango7/pseuds/AwesomeMango7
Summary: Morty realizes he’s painfully average, and is doomed to live a painfully average life. He could never be as great as Rick, he could never be as smart as him. He could never go on adventures without Rick. So he has to leave.





	Finite

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So I realized that I haven’t posted for a while. Like, a really long while. I’m still working on writing a lot of things (Alone Together, Blaze, Disconsolate, etc, etc), but I also have school stuff to deal with. And marching band LITERALLY controls my life right now, so my writing time is very limited. 
> 
> But I was getting a little anxious about not posting anything, so I went through my folders and found this story. I don’t even remember when I wrote it, but I know I definitely did lol. 
> 
> It’s definitely one of my older ones, so it’s not anything glamorous. Like, it’s been sitting in my notes for so long that it made its way to the very bottom. And I have like so much crap in my folders. I haven’t looked at it in so freaking long, but it seems decent enough to post, so why not?
> 
> It’s also really angsty and it’s a one-shot with a sort-of sad ending? But it’s also kind of an open ending? I don’t know. 
> 
> I can’t remember what I was feeling when I wrote this or why. Just felt like posting something so you guys knew I was still alive.

Morty was due to leave tomorrow morning. He’d already packed all of his stuff, and he’d said all of his goodbyes to his family. 

He’d said goodbye to everyone... everyone except for Rick. Because the old bastard had been avoiding him.

The young adult had known this was going to happen— he’d _known_ it was an inevitability. After all, Rick was emotionally stunted, and he was losing his little lab assistant. But Morty really didn’t have a choice. He really, honestly, didn’t have any choice at all. 

He needed to go to college in order to survive uh... well, to survive society. To survive as a day-to-day average person. Which, whether he or Rick wanted to admit it or not, Morty was just that.

An average person in an average world. Sure, he was special. But everyone else is special in their own way, too, so it makes everyone average for being ‘special.’

Morty believed that Rick really was the most ‘special’ someone could be. He wasn’t special in the way that everyone else was— he surpassed the very definition of the word. He was amazing. He was brilliant.

Rick was the one person in the universe who was intelligent enough to built a spaceship out of garbage, and invent a gun that could take you to other dimensions and worlds. He was the most intelligent man anyone could possibly meet.

And that’s why Rick was _actually_ special. It was why he was _actually_ different from everyone else. But Morty was nothing like him, nor would he ever be.

With these thoughts in mind, Morty found himself shifting awkwardly from foot to foot in front of the garage door at three in the morning. He knew he should probably be asleep. After all, he had a five hour drive ahead of him tomorrow morning.

However, he found himself unable to sleep. He needed Rick to know why he had to do this. Why he had to leave. And if he didn’t talk to him now, he probably wouldn’t have the chance to ever talk again. Fuck knows what Rick will do once Morty leaves— Hell, he might pack up and jump to another dimension once he was certain Morty was no longer there to stop him. It might be his last chance to ever talk to him again.

And so, with all the confidence he could muster in that moment, he twisted the door nob and pushed his way inside. 

He spotted Rick at his desk, tinkering away with something while idly sipping from a bottle of scotch. The man seemed to ignore Morty’s presence as he walked further into the room.

The young adult’s eyes scanned over the room, taking in the details of all of Rick’s inventions scattered about. He’d always adored Rick’s passion for creating things, knowing that he’d never be able to achieve something as great as it himself.

Morty cleared his throat, focusing his attention on Rick, who was still ignoring his presence. “Rick.” He said, trying to get the man’s attention. 

He got no response in return, except for Rick furrowing his brow deeper and tensing his shoulders.

“I-I-I need to talk to y-y-you, Rick.” He stammered, cringing at how much he’d stuttered in that one sentence. 

Over the years, Morty had definitely grown. His voice, of course, had gotten deeper, but it still held a higher pitch. He’d gotten taller, and a little bit leaner. His hair had grown out some, and he’d usually keep his hair cut slightly below his ears so that some of the brown strands atop his head would curl around them.

And he was mostly proud of how he’d managed to stutter less these days, but when he was nervous it made it seem as if he’d made no progress at all.

Rick huffed, pushing his project away rather roughly. He couldn’t focus with Morty staring at him like that. “W-what the fuck do y-bBUURrRp-you want?” He snapped, turning to glare up at the young adult standing next to him.

“To talk.” Morty glared back. 

Rick waved him off, feeling frustrated by Morty’s simple answer. “I-I don’t w-wanna f-fucking talk— don’t have time— time for y-your fucking _bullshit_ right now, Morty.” He grumbled. “Got— got important science stuff to do. Don’t y-you gotta get your rest for tomorrow, o-or-or some shit?” He began reaching for his project again. “Gotta p-prepare for that giant circle-jerk y-you call college, e-eh Morty? Gotta rest up f-for the b-IIGGH-est waste of your life?”

Morty crossed his arms over his chest, glaring even harder at the old man in front of him. “Fucking hell, Rick!” He growled. “T-this is _exactly_ what we gotta talk about! I mean, _Jesus Christ,_ Rick, do you really think I _want_ to go to fucking _collage?_”

Now that got Rick’s attention. He turned to look at Morty with a look of pure confusion. “T-then why t-the fuck are you goin’ if you don’t wanna?” It’s all the kid had been talking about lately, trying to get into collage.

“Because I _have _to, Rick.” Morty pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling like he was going to have an aneurysm. He was tired of Rick ignoring him and spouting off a bunch of nonsense that Morty already knew. “I’m not...” He sighed, letting his arm fall back down to his side as he looked Rick in his eyes. “I’m not... _you_. I’m _me_, Morty Smith. I’m dumb and average, and it’s not like I could build myself a super complicated Sci-fi Portal gun and say, ‘screw earth and all its requirements and rules.’” 

He looked off to the side at the invention, whatever the hell it was, that Rick had just been working on. “I-I can’t even comprehend how to do at least 90% of the things you can do, Rick. I’m pretty much doomed to a life of being...” He paused, not really sure how to phrase it. _Painfully average? Insignificant? Dumb?_ He did a weird little gesture with his hand as he tried to find the right word. “...Normal.”

Not much about his life was really considered normal whenever Rick was involved. Not really. But... now that Morty was an adult, and life was... well, _life_, he knew he wasn’t really gonna get anywhere if he just stuck with Rick, no matter how much he wanted to do just that. “I-I really do wanna just stick with you, Rick. Life is... it’s really exciting when I’m with you. I get to see and experience things that I never imagined I would. And I love the time I get to spend with you, but...” Morty took a deep breath. “What would I do if you left?” 

There was something left unsaid that the two of them both sensed. They both understood the true meaning behind that last statement. Rick would one day, inevitably, leave. Perhaps not by literally packing up and leaving to another planet. But... they both knew Rick was old. He was decades older than Morty, and therefore both of them knew Rick would die ages before Morty even had a foot in the grave.

And then Rick suddenly understood. He hated it, but he understood why Morty was leaving him now. 

“Rick... if you wanna leave and go find another Morty, I won’t be upset, okay?” Morty said, running a hand stressfully through his hair at the thought of Rick actually replacing him. But if Morty left, could be really blame him? “Not that you would really care about how I felt about such a thing, but... if that’s what you gotta do, then... it’s fine.”

Rick’s face twisted into a look of offense, like he was shocked Morty would ever say something like that. “I-I-If I wanted to replace you, I would’ve already done it.” 

Morty chuckled weakly, tears coming to his eyes before he could even think to stop them. “For what it’s worth, Rick, I’m really gonna miss you...” He said, wiping at his face to get rid of the tears. 

Rick fell silent at that, looking conflicted by something internal. He didn’t know what to do with himself.

“You’re my only friend,” Morty sniffled. “E-even though we didn’t last a hundred years, it was g-g-good while it lasted.”

Rick still didn’t do or say anything, not knowing how he was supposed to react in this situation.

“Goodbye, Rick,” Morty said, and then walked out of the garage.

* * *

The next morning, Rick was standing with the rest of the family in the drive way, getting ready to see Morty off.

The young adult had his moment with each of his parents and Summer, sharing memories and hugs.

Rick was the last one he had to say goodbye to; everyone else had already headed back inside. The scientist was quite clearly hungover, with dark bags under his eyes, messier-than-usual hair, and blood-shot eyes.

The two of them just stood in front of each other for a moment, Morty looking down at the ground and Rick looking off to his left. 

Neither of them moved for a long moment, until Rick finally decided he’d had enough. He stepped forward and pulled Morty into a big, strong hug.

Morty was taken off guard for a moment by the hug, something of which he’d never gotten from Rick. Once he got over the initial shock, he managed to bring himself to hug the old man back, wrapping his arms around him gratefully. He felt a flood of emotions travel through him; Longing, hope, sadness, and a few others he just couldn’t seem to place.

Neither of them spoke a word when the hug was broken, and they spared he each other one last look before Morty got in the car and drove away.

Somehow, Morty knew that it was the last time he’d ever see the old man. 

And he was right.

The next morning, when he’d just finished unpacking all of his things in his new dorm room, he’d gotten a call from his mother. She told him that all of Rick’s stuff, and the man himself, had vanished.

Morty felt tears forming in his eyes, but he shook it off. 

Nothing lasts forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! It’s greatly appreciated!


End file.
